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sarrie's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
TL;DR: A big win for me - I will be this series for sure and likely rereading this one as well. Loved this.
Empire of Exiles is, for me, probably the most under represented fantasy I’ve read in a while. For one, the cover does not do this justice. This book is a complicated, multi PoV story with a murder mystery at it’s heart. But you’d never guess that from the map and random objects we get. So take my advice, even if you read no further - ignore the cover. Read the blurb and if you’re interested dive in, it’s so good.
The mystery itself is fantastic. Our first PoV character is Quill who is in the city at the Archives to request material for someone in the royal family. The Archives works as a giant library of sorts for this empire’s races. Artifacts, books, records. It’s all housed here and managed by Specialists (those with magic that allows them to talk to these man made materials) and Generalists who assist the specialists. Think of them as magical librarians. Quill works in basically a legal assistant role. While in town waiting on those artifacts he sees a shocking and gut-wrenching murder occur involving his closest friend.
From there he works with Amadea, the head of the Specialists in the Archives, Yinii, one of the Specialists, and Richa who is a Vigilant (basically a cop). Slowly this turns into more than just a murder mystery as the players involved are and were involved in revolutions and the founding of this empire of exiled races, chased from their homelands by Changlings and kept safe by a large Salt Wall.
The one flaw I’ll point out is that this story is slow to start and slow to build the world. It doesn’t do a bad job but the beginning can feel a bit like a sink or swim situation. It took some time before I was able to fully grasp what things and why characters were in positions they were, but once I had a handle on what was happening I flew through this. The characters are interesting and flawed. The story is engrossing and I was glued to those last 200 and some pages like a feral person.
The magic system is also something I loved. The majority of it is based around the idea of people having affinities for man-made or manipulated things. Bronze, ink, glass, etc. Some people have affinities, low grade abilities to sense and see the materials. The next level up are Specialists who can communicate, manipulate, and sense the materials. However at this level the skill is dangerous as it’s possible to fall into an obsessive state where you simply become the material, inadvertently killing yourself. These states come in cycles and this is why these individuals work in places such as the Archives. The next level up is the Sorcerers, who are constantly on the cusp of that state. In a constant state of madness and tension and are terrifying beings that can turn into that material. Including other people. Such a clever and fascinating system, and thinking about it in conjunction with the Changelings… I have theories!
I can’t wait to read the next, I’ve already pre-ordered it and I can’t wait to see more people pick this up. Please give it a shot if you haven’t yet, it’s well worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
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